XTC band name meaning

After a period of going through longer band names (such as The Dukes of Stratosphear, Terry and the Lovemen and The Three Wise Men), the new wave band from Swindon, England changed its ways and it became XTC.

It has been stated that the band name can not be a reference to the well known party drug XTC (with active ingredient MDMA or 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine) because the band came before the drug, but that theory is built on slippery ground, because German manufacturer Merck experimented with MDMA as early as the beginning of the twentieth century. 

E. Merck's patent for MDMA, 1914

XTC's singer/songwriter Andy Partridge once said that an old Jimmy Durante film gave him the idea. In that film Jimmy apparently spoke the immortal words ‘That's it - I'm In Ecs-T-Cy'.

Details about this movie however are nowhere to be found, although there are indications that This Time For Keeps from 1947 is meant. We will keep an eye out and will let you know as soon as it is shown at a cinema near us. 

Was (Not Was) band name meaning

There are always those bands who feel they can only exist if all members are willing to use one and the same last name. The Ramones are convincing evidence. That is also the case with Was (Not Was): the founders of this pop rock band originating from Detroit, Michigan, David Weiss and Don Fagenson, go through life musically as Don and David Was. 

Make sure to say the name correctly: say wââhs and not wos. To give the fans a helping hand a band name was conceived of that - for all we know - is unique in the sense that it includes a compact pronunciation guide. So in fact we need to read Was (Not Was) as Wââhs (Not Wos). 

Will you please keep this in mind from now on? Thank you.

Violent Femmes band name meaning

Not wild ladies, but instead firmly rocking gentlemen formed the strength of the folk punk band Violent Femmes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Out of respect for the multilingual capabilities of our readers, we will refrain from translating Violent Femmes, and limit ourselves to the observation that the name has an ironic meaning. A femme in Anglo-Saxon countries is the female component of a lesbian couple, let's say the fudge that is the soft inside of the rock hard jawbreaker. 

The imagination the band displays by uniting the concepts of femme and 'violence' is admirable.

Uriah Heep band name meaning

Many hold Uriah Heep responsible for the birth of English hard rock, together with Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. 

The London band earns at least some credit because they published one of the most beautiful record-covers of all time: the cover of their debut LP Very 'eavy, Very 'umble (1970), which at first glance shows the mug of a corpse in a state of decomposition. Upon closer inspection however it concerns a somewhat flattering portrait of the former singer, David Byron.

In America they would have none of it: an alternative cover was brought out there. 

Uriah Heep - Charles Dickens - David Copperfield

Uriah Heep is, as virtually all observant English boys and girls know, an evil character from one of Charles Dickens’ novels, David Copperfield (1850). Heep is a fraudulent bookkeeper who ruins an aunt of the leading character, Betsey. Fortunately he does not escape his deserved punishment, because Uriah ends up in prison. 

Pearl Jam - Makes you think...

This alternative rock band once started as Mookie Blaylock, the famous basketball player of that name. The perhaps most famous band member of the formation from Seattle, Washington is singer/guitarist Eddy Vedder.

Peyote cactus

Eddy had a great-grandmother who was called Pearl and who took pleasure in filling hefty preserving bottles with jam. One of her specialties was a 'white version' that had every right to be called ‘alternative' because a fair amount of peyote was added to it, with all its hallucinating consequences.

At least that was the story Vedder dished up rather convincingly in the beginning of Pearl Jam’s career. Later however, in a Rolling Stone interview, Eddy qualified this statement as total bullshit with the same ease, although he admitted that his great-grandmother actually was called Pearl.  Other band members claim that their group name was Pearl at first, and that later - because of their preference for endlessly spreading out their songs - Jam was added.

Many fans hold the view that if one imagines a slithery, white substance with a pearly luster, one’s thoughts will inevitably turn to sperm.

Active: 1990-present, USA

Toto - Man's best friend

Musical omnivore from Los Angeles, California, with an appetite for all contemporary genres: pop, rock, soul, funk, R&B and jazz – the overall effect is soft rock according to some experts.

In an interview guitarist Steve Lukather once joked that Toto is derived from the real surname of the singer and frontman at that time, Bobby Kimball. It was a corny joke that would dog the band for many years to come.

Completely unfounded of course, because the real dog behind the band is the cute two-year-old female Cairn terrier that plays a role in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939, director Victor Fleming).

Pleasant side-effect of this name: toto is the Latin word for 'everything' – completely matching Toto’s repertoire.

Active: 1977-2008; 2010-present, USA
Site: http://www.toto99.com/blog2010/index.php?/categories/1-Hot-News